Hot times, great fun at Epcot for New Year’s Eve 2012/2013

Epcot was ablaze in color, music and fun with four different parties on New Year’s Eve.

We have a synopsis video here. The night includes two performances of Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. The night starts with fireworks, and then rings in the new year with a thunderous grand finale.

Group dance was lead by beloved and funny DJ Scooter in Future World.

Spaceship Earth was constantly changing color and patterns to match the music spun by DJ Scooter.

China’s dance floor was ruled by a smoke breathing dragon.

The dragon also delighted his guests by sending flames jetting into the air above his dance floor.

Lasers lured guests away from the other parties to dance in the Italy courtyard.

The lasers blazed with constantly changing color.

Latin Wave performed at the America Gardens Theatre.

Guests were welcome to dance on stage.

DJ Steve Dunlap lead guests in dancing and talent competitions at the Theatre from 2 to 6 p.m. This popular DJ also leads guests in pre-race warm ups at many of the runDisney races.

New Year’s Eve is the one night of the year where guests can take bypasses backstage and quickly get between Test Track and Norway-China, or between Imagination and the Showcase Pavilion next to the U.K.

A backstage bypass.

Many families split up at night, holding their spot for fireworks viewing while others in the group go party hopping around World Showcase.

So how busy was it on New Year’s Eve? Well, this east-side entrance bag check is normally a short line.

And here’s a series of views circling World Showcase. Crowds were dense, but similar to a downtown street at noon or a busy shopping mall.

At noon, the line for Spaceship Earth was continually filling in at this point, near the granite monoliths of the Epcot entrance plaza. The line continued ahead, and then zig-zagged on either side of the attraction in expanded roped areas.

Also at noon, the line for The Seas with Nemo and Friends was continually filling at this point. Twenty-five paces behind the camera are the restrooms near the Imagination pavilion.

Sometime earlier this week the Christmas Tree was removed, so that more locations could be used for clear viewing of the fireworks.

Some of the portable lighting was shaped like Mickey Mouse!

Some areas of pavement were marked with arrows to help guests move from area to area.

It was a great party!